Six questions to Markus Miele

Whichever way you choose will depend on your personal preferences, says Dr Markus Miele, one of the two Executive Directors and Co-Proprietors of the eponymous domestic appliance manufacturer. Here, the great-grandson of one of the two founding fathers presents the most important new product to be shown at this year's IFA trade show – and explains why the purchase of a vacuum cleaner is a matter of belief and conviction.

Miele is set to present its first bagless vacuum cleaner at IFA 2016.
Are you satisfied with the results, Dr Miele?

Markus Miele: Yes, because we are absolutely convinced of being able to offer consumers a product in the form of the Blizzard CX1 which does justice in every respect to Miele's 'Forever Better' brand promise.

With a view to bagless vacuum cleaning, you are one of the last reputable vacuum cleaner manufacturers to climb on board.
Why did you wait so long?

When the first machines started appearing on the market, cleaning performance and user convenience, particularly with respect to hygiene when emptying the container, was severely lacking. But we took note of the fact that the players who were first to market have made progress since and that the following for bagless vacuum cleaners has been growing steadily. So our product engineers set to work with great persistence to overcome the inherent disadvantages of this type of machine as far as was humanly possible. And, in my opinion, they have been very successful!

And, to be more specific, what was the challenge?

In order to separate dust and air, the air on most bagless vacuum cleaners is passed through a series of small cyclones. This involves changing the direction of the air many, many times which produces lots of noise and wastes energy. In addition to this, regulating suction power is often impossible as so-called multi-cyclone vacuum cleaners require a constant air speed to prevent the cyclone from collapsing. And then there's also that much-feared billowing cloud of dust on emptying the container ...

So what does Miele do differently then?

Firstly, we opted for the so-called mono-cyclone approach in which air only passes through one single and considerably larger cyclone. This facilitates very good cleaning performance combined with pleasant operating sound levels – and the Blizzard CX1 with its four power settings can be conveniently regulated. Secondly, a multi-stage filtration system ensures the thorough removal of fine dust from the air stream so that the container when emptied only contains the coarser dust particles which are less likely to become airborne. And, thirdly, the various components have been designed in such a way as to ensure that the container can be completely emptied without risking skin contact with the debris.

But you will be up against long-standing and well-established competitors in this market. Hasn't your chance come and gone?

No, discerning customers who place great store by quality, performance and convenience are not swayed by the date on which a player enters the market. I can only urge everyone to familiarise themselves with the Blizzard CX1 and to compare it with conventional units. We look forward to the feedback. And, what's more, the Blizzard was developed and manufactured at Miele's Bielefeld plant – and of course tested to last 20 years, based on 45 minutes of use per week and 5000 container emptying cycles.

If the Blizzard is really as convincing in terms of cleaning performance as you say – doesn't that mean that vacuum cleaners with bags are slowly becoming superfluous?

Here, too, my response is a categorical 'No'. In terms of disposal hygiene, the performance of top-class models with bags such as those which Miele markets with great success will continue to remain unchallenged. And when it comes to measuring cleaning performance on carpets, the conventional vacuum cleaner will also retain its lead. By contrast, though, bagless vacuum cleaners excel in terms of follow-on costs, and many fans love the fact that the result of their labours is immediately visible in the dust container. Whichever way the choice falls is a matter of personal preference. One could even say it's a matter of belief and conviction. What matters is that Miele has exceptional products in its lineup to satisfy both types of consumers.

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Company profile: Miele is the world's leading manufacturer of premium domestic appliances including cooking, baking and steam-cooking appliances, refrigeration products, coffee makers, dishwashers and laundry and floor care products. This line-up is augmented by dishwashers, washer-extractors and tumble dryers for commercial use as well as washer-disinfectors and sterilisers for use in medical and laboratory applications (Miele Professional). The Miele company, founded in 1899, has 8 production plants in Germany as well as one plant each in Austria, the Czech Republic, China and Romania. 2015/16 turnover amounted to approx. EUR 3.71 bn with sales outside Germany accounting for around 70%. Miele is represented with its own sales subsidiaries and via importers in almost 100 countries. The Miele company, now in the fourth generation of family ownership, employs a workforce of around 18,400, 10,300 thereof in Germany. The company headquarters are located in Gütersloh/Westphalia, Germany.